Light emitting devices comprising a light emitting element (such as a light emitting diode or a laser diode) and a package on which the light emitting element is mounted have been widely used in the past as the light source for LCD television backlights, lighting fixtures, optical communications devices, and so forth. The package comprises a molded article made of resin, and a flat connector that is embedded in the molded article and is electrically connected to the light emitting element. The connector has a connection face that is electrically connected to the light emitting element, a rear face that is opposite the connection face, and a side face that is contiguous with the connection face and the rear face.
Light emitting devices are generally classified as either a top-view type or a side-view type, according to the direction in which the light emitted by the light emitting element is taken off. With a top-view type of light emitting device, the emitted light from a light emitting element 10 is taken off in a direction perpendicular to a mounting face of a mounting board. With a side-view type of light emitting device, the emitted light from the light emitting element is taken off in a direction that is parallel to the mounting face of the mounting board.
There is a known top view type of light emitting device in which the connection face and the side face are embedded in the molded article and the rear face is exposed from the molded article at the outer edge of the connector (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2010-62272). With a top-view light emitting device such as this, the connection face can be made larger in a direction parallel to the mounting face, so adequate contact surface area can be ensured between the molded article and the connector.